SA Watchdog Demands Fairness for Online Platforms”

Harris Marley

Global Courant

The South African Competition Commission recently took action against several online platforms, with the goal of encouraging competition and assisting smaller businesses. Google, Takealot, Uber Eats, and Apple are among the companies targeted, each of which is subject to specific demands in order to encourage greater competition from smaller entities.

One of the major directives calls for Google to provide R330 million in advertising credits and other forms of assistance to local small businesses. Takealot must also make changes to its website to encourage competition from smaller suppliers. Additionally, online real estate sites and car sellers must lower their listing prices for independent agencies and dealers.

After more than two years of investigation, the Competition Commission released its final report on the dominance of online retail platforms in South Africa. According to the report, Google will provide R180 million in advertising credits to small businesses and will give smaller online platforms more prominence in its search engine results. In addition, the tech giant must provide an additional R150 million in training, product support, and other measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises and black-owned online businesses in overcoming competitive disadvantages on Google Search. In addition, Google will include a South African flag identifier in its search results to help consumers identify and support local retailers.

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These new requirements are effective immediately, but will be phased in to allow businesses to adapt to the changes. The Competition Commission hopes that these interventions will empower smaller South African online platforms while also creating a more equitable environment in the face of retail giants’ dominance.

Overall, the Competition Commission’s actions represent an important step towards fostering a more competitive and inclusive online marketplace in South Africa, benefiting smaller businesses and ultimately providing consumers with more choices and fairer pricing options.


SA Watchdog Demands Fairness for Online Platforms”

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